US2207596A

US2207596A - Refrigerating apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2207596A
Application number: US76438A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward B Newill
Original assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Current assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Priority date: 1936-04-25
Filing date: 1936-04-25
Publication date: 1940-07-09
Anticipated expiration: 1957-07-09

Description

y 1940 E. B. NEWILL 2,207,595

REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Filed April 25, 1936 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. I an 4A! .3. NEW/41..

HIS ATTORNEYS Patented July 9, 1940 PATENT OFFICE REFRIGERATING APPARATUS Edward B. Newill, Dayton, Ohio, assignor to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a corporation of Delaware Application April 25, 1936, Serial No. 76,438

Claims.

This invention relates to liquid congealing apparatus and particularly to a tray structure having a grid therein for forming ice blocks suitable for table use.

It is an object of my' invention to provide an improved tray structure for congealing or freezing liquids.

Another object of my invention is to provide an improved flexible metallic ice tray for use in refrigerating apparatus.

A further object of my invention is to provide a metallic ice tray having resilient walls that can be flexed to break the bond between ice in the tray and the tray walls to thereby facilitate removal of flexing the resilient tray walls.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of the present invention is clearly shown.

In the drawingsi Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an ice tray constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1 showing in elevation a device for flexing the tray walls in associated position with the Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the tray disclosed in Fig. 1 showing the walls of the tray after being flexed by the device disclosed in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 2 and is taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3 showing the tray walls in a position after having been flexed by the flexing device; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged top plan view ofa portion of the tray to more clearly show the walls thereof flexed outwardly away from ice contained therein.

Referring to the drawings for a detailed description of the invention, numeral I0 designates generally a tray preferably formedof-resilient or flexible metal such, for example, as stainless steel,

45 since this material is a good conductor of heat,

is highly flexible and is non-corrosive. The tray I0 is of the type adapted to be placed in or on a cooling element of a refrigerating system and adapted to contain a grid of any suitable or con-- 50 ventional construction for dividing the'interior thereof into a plurality of open top compartments so that water placed in the tray will be frozen into ice blocks. flexible rubber trays have been employed for use with refrigerating apparatus, but these rubber ice therefrom and to provide a novel device for I am aware of the fact that thereof. Obviously, therefore, a metal tray with a metal grid thereinis more desirable for such use. While I have described the tray of the present invention as having a conventional grid disposed therein, it is to be understood that any type of grid may be disposed in the tray. For example, grids of the type shown in the patents to Jules N. Saler No. 2,037,518, No. 2,037,519, and No., 2,037,521, dated April 14, 1936, which are constructed in a manner so as to be flexible after removal thereof from a tray to facilitate the removal of ice blocks therefrom without application of heat to the grid, may be used in combination with my improvedtray.

The tray l0 of the present invention is preferably formed by being drawn from a flat sheet of resilient stainless steel to provide a bottom wall II and upstanding side and end walls l2. The upper extremity I 3 of the walls I2 is folded over as at It to provide rigidity along the top of the tray. The resiliency of the walls I I and I2 is such that they normally retain a predetermined bowed position even when the tray is filled ith water or other substance to be frozen. It will be noted that the resilient bottom wall II is formed so as to retain a slightly bowed upward position as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings while the side and end walls l2 are formed so as to retain an'inwardly bowed position as shown in Fig. 1. A unitary grid l6 placed in tray III to divide the interior thereof into a plurality of open top molds or compartments includes a vertically disposed longitudinal partition I! and a plurality of transverse partitions 18. The transverse partitions l8 nearest the central part of grid 16 are made shorter than partitions I8 near the ends of the grid so as to cause'the grid to conform to the planular contour of the'space between the tray walls I2. The bottom portion or edges of the grid l6 are cut on a curve to conform to the slightly curved contour of the tray bottom I I. Thus, it will be apparent that the bottom and the side edges of the .grid l6 fit closely adjacent the walls of tray l0 when the tray is in its normal or predetermined retained position as shown in guiding grooves for receiving the arms ,or legs of an expansion or flexing device, gen ax ally represented by the reference character .21, utilized for a purpose to now be described. v

The expansion device 2| comprises a pair of legs or arms 22 pivotally mounted upon a pin or shaft 23. The pin or shaft 23 passes through and is secured to a bracket member 24 which has a knob or handle portion 25 mounted thereon or if desired formed integral therewith;' The device 2| is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 as being in a position adapted to have force applied thereto for expanding the resilient walls H and I2 of tray l outwardly from ice in the tray, but it is to be understood that the device 2| is normally cletached or removed from the tray. Assuming that the contents of the tray have been frozen, the tray removed from the cooling element of a refrigerating system and the device 2| moved into association with the tray with the legs or arms 22 thereof fitting in the grooves provided by the outwardly directed portions l9 on'tray Ill then a downward force'applied tothe knob or handle 25 will move the legs or arms 22 thereof outwardly and such movement will flex the side walls l2 of tray l0 outwardly from the frozen contents of the tray to break an ice bond therebetween. The construction of tray l0 and the resilient characteristics of the bowed metal walls thereof are such that, when the operation just described is being carried out, the end walls of the tray tend to move outwardly relative to ice in the tray to thus peel the end walls therefrom. Due tothe curved or bowed formation of the bottom wall I of tray l0, it is inherent in the structure disclosed that this bottom wall will also be flexed out of its normal position or moved away from ice in the tray after the side walls have been loosened. 'This movement or flexed position of the resilient walls and |2 of tray I0 is clearly illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 5 of the drawings.

1 By referring to Figs. 3, 4 and 5, it will be noted that there is a space 26 along and between the ice in tray l0 and its flexed side walls l2, a space 21 along and between the ice in tray l0 and its flexed end walls l2 and a' space 28 along and between the ice in tray l0 and its flexed bottom wall thereby illustrating the separation of the tray walls from the ice. All of the metal walls of tray ID are thus substantially peeled away from ice frozen in the tray to thereby permit removal of the ice along with grid l6 therefrom without application of heat to the tray. After the ice bond between walls of the tray l0 and ice therein has been broken, the device 2|. is removed or detached from the tray and tray is .then inverted to permit the ice together with grid I6 to'fall or slide out of the tray. After the ice and the grid l6 have been removed from the tray ID, the ice may be removed or harvested from grid IS in any suitable or desirable manner. It

tray to be frozen without unduly flexing the walls out of their normal predetermined bowed position.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that I have provided-an improved metallic ice tray construction which may be readily and easily manually flexed to remove the frozen contents therefrom, thus eliminating the necessity of applying heat in the form of warm water, for example, to the tray to cause removal of its frozen contents. My improved tray andthemethod of removing ice'therefrom as described permits the ice to retain latent heat stored therein and renders the ice blocks removed therefrom more emcient in cooling drinks, etc.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form,

. end walls, respectively, apart and thereby break an ice bond between said tray walls and ice contained therein.

2. An ice tray having resilient metallic side, end and bottom walls, all of said Walls being normally slightly bowed, said tray being constructed and arranged so that an outward pressure when applied to an intermediate point of each of said 'side walls will spread the side walls apart and flex the bowed bottom and end walls to thereby break an ice bond between said tray walls and ice contained therein.

3. An ice tray having a resilient metallic bottom wall, opposed resilient metallic upright side walls and opposed resilient metallic uprlghtend walls, said side and said end walls being normally slightly bowed inwardly, said tray being constructed and arranged so that an outward pressure when applied to an intermediate point of each of certain of said opposed upright bowed walls will spread same apart and flex each of the other of the opposed upright bowedwalls and the resilient tray bottom wall to thereby break an ice bond between said tray walls and ice. contained therein.

4. An ice tray having resilient metallic side, end and bottom walls, said side walls being normally slightly bowed inwardly, means associated with the tray for applying an outward pressure to an intermediate point of each of said side walls to spread saidside and -end walls, respectively,'

apart and thereby break an ice bond between said tray walls and ice contained therein.

5. An ice tray having resilient metallic side, end and bottom walls, said side walls'being normally slightly bowed inwardly, expansible means associated. with the tray and having. a part thereof engaging an intermediate point of each of said side walls for applying an outward pressure thereto to spread said side and end walls, respectively, apart and thereby break an ice bond between said tray walls and ice contained therein.

EDWARD B. NEwnL.